Mars rover event stirs scientific fires at UH

By Amanda Hilow

Updated 7:33 pm, Saturday, January 26, 2013

Photo: Caltech/MSSS

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''Hello, MAHLI'' This image shows the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background. The image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera on the 32nd Martian day, or sol, of operations on the surface.

''Hello, MAHLI'' This image shows the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background. The image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera on the 32nd Martian

'High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera' NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture this set of 55 high-resolution images, which were stitched together to create this full-color self-portrait. The mosaic shows the rover at "Rocknest," the spot in Gale Crater where the mission's first scoop sampling took place. The base of Gale Crater's 3-mile-high (5-kilometer) sedimentary mountain, Mount Sharp, rises on the right side of the frame. Self-portraits like this one document the state of the rover and allow mission engineers to track changes over time, such as dust accumulation and wheel wear. Due to its location on the end of the robotic arm, only MAHLI (among the rover's 17 cameras) is able to image some parts of the craft, including the port-side wheels.

'High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera' NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture this set of 55 high-resolution images, which were stitched together to

''Veins in 'Sheepbed' Outcrop'' This image of an outcrop at the "Sheepbed" locality, taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover with its right Mast Camera (Mastcam), shows well-defined veins filled with whitish minerals, interpreted as calcium sulfate. These veins form when water circulates through fractures, depositing minerals along the sides of the fracture, to form a vein. Mastcam obtained these images the 126th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's mission on Mars (Dec. 13, 2012).

''Veins in 'Sheepbed' Outcrop'' This image of an outcrop at the "Sheepbed" locality, taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover with its right Mast Camera (Mastcam), shows well-defined veins filled with whitish

''Remnants of Ancient Streambed on Mars'' NASA's Curiosity rover found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream on Mars at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named "Hottah" after Hottah Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It may look like a broken sidewalk, but this geological feature on Mars is actually exposed bedrock made up of smaller fragments cemented together, or what geologists call a sedimentary conglomerate. Scientists theorize that the bedrock was disrupted in the past, giving it the titled angle, most likely via impacts from meteorites. The key evidence for the ancient stream comes from the size and rounded shape of the gravel in and around the bedrock. Hottah has pieces of gravel embedded in it, called clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters) in size and located within a matrix of sand-sized material. Some of the clasts are round in shape, leading the science team to conclude they were transported by a vigorous flow of water. The grains are too large to have been moved by wind.

''Remnants of Ancient Streambed on Mars'' NASA's Curiosity rover found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream on Mars at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named

''MAHLI's First Night Imaging of Martian Rock, White Lighting'' This image of a Martian rock illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. MAHLI took the images on Jan. 22, 2012 (PST), after dark on the 165th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars.

''MAHLI's First Night Imaging of Martian Rock, White Lighting'' This image of a Martian rock illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the

Little prospective rocket scientists and Martian wannabes roamed the halls of the University of Houston on Saturday, flaunting both their intellect and out-of-this world style.

More than 600 students from nearly three dozen elementary and middle schools tackled the mission of designing and constructing a rover mock-up on a $25 budget at the 11th annual Mars Rover Model Celebration and Exhibition.

"This is all recycled," bragged Troy Grabert, 9, as he showed off his model. The New Caney ISD student scavenged for metal and spare tools to construct the rover, enlisting some minor assistance from teammate Tristan Lawniczak's electrician father.

Sporting white lab coats and thick-rimmed glasses, the boys from Aiken Elementary's fourth-grade class proudly explained their project to the judges and kindly thanked everyone for visiting their booth.

"We have invisible shields that develop special weapons, too," touted Lawniczak, 10, after a volunteer judge asked what would happen in an emergency.

Students were judged on both their rover and the explanation of it, organizers said.

"We have kids from third to eighth grade … and what they do is learn about Mars and come up with their own mission they would like to accomplish," said event co-coordinator Rebecca Forrest. "We emphasize students choosing their own mission and category because they will be most excited while learning about a project they have chosen for themselves."

Forrest, an instructional associate professor in the physics department at UH, said the goal of the outreach program is to encourage students to take an interest in science and technology career fields, which are facing looming shortages of qualified U.S. workers.

It seems to be working. "Right now, I kind of want to be a scientist," Eddins said. "It's all really cool."